South African Chef Lerato Sitole’s story makes a full-circle turn. After qualifying as a chef, Chef Lerato started her career working in restaurants, private corporate catering, on boats and in private homes. When she got the opportunity to start her own café in Cape Town, she jumped at the chance! However, with no one to look after her children full-time, Chef Lerato had to sell her café and take a more corporate job, training communities and bus drivers as the then-new initiative of MyCiti buses was being rolled out.

With her bubbly personality, Chef Lerato struggled to work in a corporate environment. Breaking through her anxiety, Lerato made the cut. Luckily during her corporate job, Chef Lerato had kept her fingers in the cooking community pie, collaborating with like-minded friends and cooking for private families. So as soon as she left her corporate job, Chef Lerato easily slipped into being a full-time private chef for various families. This is temporary while she cooks up her next big idea.

“I want to bring Africa together through food – anyone who was born in Africa, who loves food, and who wants to collaborate,” is how Chef Lerato explains her business idea. “I want to bring awareness to South Africans about neighbouring Africans. A common base connects our cuisines, and this common base has been taken by each group of people and changed just a little. People need to realise the essence of our foods is the same.”